Art of treating ores.



No. `699,456.v Patented `May 6, |902.4

A. M. DDRR & J. SPANG.

ART UF IREATING DRES.

rApplication led Feb. 19, 1902.)

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' #Wiley No. 699,456. Patented M'ay 6, |902. A. M. DORE &. J. SPANG.

ART 0F TREATING GRES.

(Application led Feb. 19, 1902.) (No Model.) A 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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A. M. DOBR & J. SPANG. ART 0F TREATING GRES.

(Application lad Feb. 19. 1902.)

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ANDREV M. DORR AND JOSEPH SPANG, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO CHEMICAL AND ELECTRICAL ORE REDUCING COM- PANY, OF VESTVIRGINIA.

ART OF TREATING CRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,456, dated May 6,1902.

Application filed February 19, 1902. Serial No. 94,828. (No specimens.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we,ANDREw M. DoRR and JOSEPH SPANG, citizens of theUnited States, and residents of Boston, in the county of Suffolk andState of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement. inthe Art of Treating Ores, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the treatment of copper and other ores whichmay be reduced by roasting and smelting; and its object is toh obtainfrom such ore a high-grade matte expeditiously and economically. To thisend we subject the ore to a continuous reduction process which involvesthe three steps of roasting, smelting the roasted ore, and purifying thesmelted ore,this being accomplished in the manner and by the aid ofinstrumenf talities which we will proceed to describe in detail.

In order that our invention may be more clearly understood, thisspecication is accompanied by drawings illustrative of the preferredform of apparatus which we employ in carrying out the invention. Saidapparatus, however, is not here claimed, but forms the subject of aseparate application in our joint names for Letters Patent.

In said drawings, accompanying and formingpart of this specication,Figure 1 is asec-l tional elevation of the complete apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the furnace. Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof the moltenmetal receiver. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the furnace.Fig. 5 is atop plan ofthe same.

We will describe rst the apparatus and then the mode of procedure.

A is the body of the furnace, made of iirebrick or any approvedmaterial. v

B is the reducing-chamber, into which the ore is charged. h representsgrate-bars of re-` fractory material at the bottom of said chambers.

.h is a door in the side of the furnace above the grate-surface, throughwhich the cinders can be withdrawn.

The chamber Bris closed at top by a cover h2, carrying a hopper h3,through which coke and other material can be supplied to the chamberduring the process of reduction,

said hopper having a removable cover Zrl at the top and a dumping-gateh5 at or near its bottom, so that after the material has been chargedinto the hopper the cover b can be closed before the gate h5 is opened,thus preventing cold air from entering thc chamber B through the hopper.

C represent-s charcoal-chambers formed in the furnace-Walls at or nearthe top of the chamber B and communicating with the latter, as shown.These charcoal-chambers are provided each with agrate c, adoor c,throughwhich charcoal or other fuel can be supplied to the chamber above thegrate c, and a door c2 below the grate, through which air can enter,said air on its Way to the reduction-chamber B being compelled to passup through the burning fuel on the grate c and being thus highly heatedbefore it can enter the rednction-chamber. These chambers Care, in effect, air-fines through which atmospheric air is drawn from the outsideinto the reductionchamber and is heated during its passage through suchfines.

Y Below the reduction-chamberis the mattechamber D. This chamber, whichis shown open at the front in Fig. 2, is When the furnace is inoperation closed at this point by slabs c7, of fire-clay or otherrefractory material luted into place, as indicated in Fig. l, said slabsbeing provided with the usual peepholes, through which observations maybe taken. The matte-chamber contains a moltenmetal receiver E, Figs. land 3, made of or lined with a suitable refractory material, whichreceiver is supported above the bottom 4of the chamber on side supportsd', which may, have the form of rails, as shown, the

Vbottom of thereceiver E being formed with corresponding rails e to fiton side rails d', arid then allowthe receiver to be readily drawn outfrom or pushed into the matte- Chamber. There is a communicating spacein the matte-chamber above, below, and at the front of the receiver E,forminga passage through which the heat and fiamevand other products ofcombustion pass `over down in front of and thence underneath thereceiver, which is thus subjected to intense heat on all sides. From therear of the matte-chamber at a point below the receiver the prod ucts ofcombustion pass th rough an opening cl2 into a flue F, and thence to thesuction-fan Gr, Fig. l, which discharges into the chimney-stack H. Bythis fan a downdraft is created and maintained in the red notion-chamberB and mattechamber D.

Extending down into the reduction-chamber B through thc cover Ware pipest', through which the gas which we prefer to employ in our process-ahighly-oxygenated hydrocarbon gas-is discharged into the said chamber.Ve prefer to make these pipes vertically movable or adjustable, so thatthe position of their discharge ends or nozzles relatively to the chargein the chamber can be varied at will. The pipes t', provided withregulating valves or cocks t", Fig. 5, connect with pipes j, leadingfrom a gasometer J, containing the gas. Another pipe j leads from thegasometer to pipes or nozzles 7s., Figs. l and 4, which enter thematte-cham ber D from the rear and so as to discharge above the receiverE therein.

In the present instance the gas is obtained by forcing (by means of anair-,pump K, Fig. l, and a connecting-pipe l) atmosphericair through areceptacle L, containing a solution of ingredients which when air ispassed through the same will impregnate and cornbine with said air, soas to oxygenate it and in effect to convert it into a strong oxygen gas,and as we find it desirable also to charge the same with a fuel gas orvapor we pass it (by a pipe m) on its Way to the gasometer through aholder M, containing gasolene or the like, whence it passes by pipe n tothe gasometer.

N is a tank from which the gasolene is supplied to the holder M.

Having described the apparatus, we now proceed to describe our novelmode of treatment of the ore.

We Will suppose, for the sake of illustration, that the ore to betreated is a copper ore, and more particularly a sulfo-pyritic ore-such,for example, as is found in the United Verde mine, near Jerome, Arizona.

The manner in which we practically proceed in order to produce the bestresults is as follows: The ore to be Worked more advantageously shouldbebroken into lumps of one and one-quarter inches in size or thereabout.On the grate b in the reductionchamber B We first place a layer of coke.This sustains the charge, prevents the ore from dropping through thegrate, and reinforces the heat. Ore is then charged into chamber B ontop of the coke layer, charcoal in small quantities being mixed with it,which will ignite easily and will start combustion throughout the mass.After the full charge of ore is in a light layer of charcoal may be puton top'of it to assist in ignition; but this is not indispensable.Charcoal is also placed in the chamber C above the grates therein. Thefurnace should now be completely closed,

except the lower doors c2 of the charcoalchambers C, which remain open.Fires are then started in the two charcoal-chambers, and the exhaust orsuction fan G is started and continues to run during the rest of theoperation. The effect of this is to create and maintain a downdraft inthe-furnace, and the air entering through the doors c2 is drawn upthrough the ignited beds of charcoal in the chamber C, thence passesinto and down 4through the charge in the reduction-chamber B, and in sodoing ignites the charcoal which is mixed with the ore.` As soon as thecharcoal in or on top of the charge is fairly ignited gas is turned onthrough the pipes This gas mingles with the air, which still entersthrough the open doors c2 of the charcoal-chambers, and passes downthrough the ignited charge, thus setting up heat and combustion. Fullhead of gas is not turned on at this time, the supply being regulated soas to produce what may be termed a roasting heat7 or heat not sufficientto rapidly melt and reduce the ore, but to keep it as long as necessaryin condition when the sulfur and other im purities may be volatilizedand drawn off as vapors, the oxygen of the gas facilitating this result.This heat, by means of which the more volatile constituents of thecharge are driven off as far as possible, is continued until the oreiinally reaches a pasty or semiliquid state and begins to drop throughthe grate into the receiver in the matte-chamber below. reached, thedoors c2 are closed, so as to exclude atmospheric air as far aspossible, and the full head of gas is turned on from pipe i. Thisproduces a smelting heat or a heat of such intensity that the ore israpidly smelted and runs down in liquid state into the receiver in thematte-chamber below. It Will take some little time-say about an hour anda half-to get all the metal down, and during this time coke may be andpreferably is put into the retort (by means of the hopper b3) on top ofthe ore from time to time to assist in maintaining combustion and inreinforcing the heat. As soon as the metal fairly begins to run thegas-jets k at the rear of the matte-chamber are opened, and the admittedgas burns in the chamber above the receiver E, producing an intenseheat, the products of combustion together with those drawn from thechamber B above passing down in front of the receiver under the bottomof the same and thence out from the furnace. The molten metal is thussubjected to intense heat sufficient to bring it to and maintain it inviolent ebullition. This is the purification stage of the process, theeffect of it being to burn out some of the iron and sulfur and otheringredients Which have been smelted down with the copper and to purifythe matte and concentrate it. The liquid product While in this conditioncan be stirred or poled, as the operation is sometimes termed, thistending to enhance the purification and to produce uni- When this stageof the process is- IOO form matte and assisting in the elimination ofsulfur. This heat to produce the best results should be maintained inthe matte-chamber for about half an hour after the molten mass hasreached the boiling-point. After this the slag (which iioats on thesurface of the mass) can be skimmed off, the gas is turned off, thematte-chamber is opened, and the product can be removed either in thereceiver E itself or by tapping it off from the receiver into a suitablemold or receptacle below, as shown, for example, at E, Figs. l and 2.Whatever remaining slag there may be lies as a scurf or layer on top ofthe matte and can be easily broken off after this matte has cooled. Thematte thus Obtained is distinctively a high grade of matte, at leastequal in quality to the best produced by the usual smelting processes.The entire time required to thus reduce the ore to matte is about fourhours at the outside. In some cases only from two to two and a half orthree hours are required.

In the above description of our mode of procedure it has been supposedto be used in connection with copper ores, bu t, as hereinbefore stated,it is applicable to any ore which is reduced by roasting and smelting.By our process we can successfully treat and have successfully treatednot only comparatively f ree-running ores, which usually aresuccessively roasted and smelted, but also the more refractory oressuch, for example, as refractory sulfid ores-which, after being roasted,must be subjected to the concentrating process before being smelted.

Having described our invention and the best Way now known to us ofcarrying the same into effect, what We claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

The process of producing matte directly from ores which consists incharging the ore into a suitable chamber, subjecting it there first to acomparatively low heat whereby it is roasted to drive o as far aspossible its volatile constituents, and next to a high or smelting heat,discharging the ore as it is smelted into a matte-chamber below andsubjecting the molten mass as it accumulates in said matte-chamber to anintense heat, whereby it is purified and concentrated, supplyinga gasrich in oxygen both to the chamber in which the ore is roasted andsmelted, and, at the time the metal begins to iiow, to thematte-chamber, and maintaining a downdraft through both chambers,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 5th day ofFebruary, 1902.

ANDREW M. DORR. JOSEPH SPANG.

Witnesses:

CLEMnNs SPANG, A. J. Bossu.

